DENVER-Aaron Yarnell scored three rushing touchdowns in leading the Colorado Crush to a runaway 36-7 victory over the Arizona Rattlers in a Week 2 AFL game.
After trading punts to start the game, Colorado would drive 60 yards on 4 plays. Howton Thom put an exclamation point on the drive with a 40-yard touchdown pass to Sandy Kelley to take a 7-0 lead with 8:42 remaining in the first quarter.
The exchange of punts continued until early in the second quarter, then Earl Ginger missed a 53-yard field goal attempt for the Crush. The Rattlers drove in an attempt to score, but Stan Dinn sacked Kadeem Raburn and forced a fumble that was recovered by Cecil Nathan at the Colorado 29-yard line. The Crush subsequently drove 71 yards on 9 plays, ending with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Thom to Valentine Millstone to make it 14-0 with 6:09 left in the half. Arizona punted and the Crush ran out the clock to end the first half.
The third quarter began with another punt exchange, then Colorado embarked on a 16-play, 88-yard drive that took nearly seven and-a-half minutes. Yarnell would finish it off with a 1-yard touchdown run, Ginger missed the extra point and the score was 20-0 with 50 seconds to go in the third quarter.
Montrose Gulley fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Leonardo Emery recovered for the Crush at the Rattlers' 34-yard line. Seven plays later, Yarnell would run in from the 5 and Ginger missed another extra point to make it 26-0 with 12:51 to go in the fourth quarter. Arizona went for it on fourth down in Colorado territory, but Raburn was picked off by Wallace Burden who returned it 36 yards to the Arizona 20-yard line. Yarnell scored on a 20-yard touchdown run on the next play to make it 33-0 with 9:50 left in the game. The Rattlers again went for it on fourth down at midfield, but the pass fell incomplete. After a five-play, 17-yard drive, Ginger would connect on a 50-yard field goal to go up 36-0 with 3:59 left in the game. Arizona finally got on the board following an 11-play, 70-yard drive when Raburn hit Arvil Stinson on a 3-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds to go making it 36-7.
Colorado (2-0) gained 398 yards of total offense. The Crush ran for 127 yards on 33 carries. Yarnell led the team with 79 yards on 16 carries and 3 TD. Thom was 22-of-34 passing for 271 yards and 2 TD and was not sacked in the game. Tyler Howell led the receivers with 9 catches for 106 yards. The Crush visit the Los Angeles Avengers next week.
Arizona (0-2) gained 276 yards of total offense. The Rattlers ran for 71 yards on 19 carries. Raburn led the team with 34 yards on 4 carries. He was 22-of-39 passing for 221 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 16 yards. Melvin Jones (94 yards) and Shelby Lerti (47 yards) each caught 6 passes in the game. The Rattlers host the San Jose Sabercats next week.
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